It's not what it looks like
by niuxen
Summary: For Tumblr drabble prompt "It's not what it looks like."


The Millennium Falcon was quiet and Rey didn't know if she liked it. She had been through enough solitude for a lifetime, yet after a couple of trips on a loaded with a bunch of Resistance fighters Falcon she was glad to catch a breath and sort some things out while fixing what was now her home. They were running from planet to planet, feeling First Order on their backs, but they were not giving up.

Days spent on those planets went by too quickly, following almost the same routine she'd share with her friends. Find whatever spot to catch a couple of hours of sleep, organize a search party for food, plan their next move with General Leia and hop back on the Millennium Falcon.

It's not that she was annoyed with the people around her, more that she lost track of time since their Crait breakaway. A lot has happened since she left them at the Resistance base at D'Qar, a lot of thoughts hanging around her head and Rey did not have a spare moment to sort them out.

During those trips to nearest cities available Rey would usually go accompanied by Finn and Poe. If they weren't stressed and desperate to get medicine for Rose, Rey would love those escapades. Her eyes would absorb every detail of colorful flea-markets, damp and dark alleys or posh boulevards screaming with neons.

Finally, on one of the expeditions, they found a mildly-reliable doctor, who looked more a charlatan to Rey. Since they still had no food to come back with, Poe made Finn go back to Rose while they stayed and organized some more victuals.

When Finn left, Poe gently took Rey's hand and led her down narrow streets, between clay houses and wooden stalls. She wasn't annoyed at the hand-holding. If anything she added it as another point to the list of confusing things she was feeling lately.

When they arrived at the market, Rey and Poe partied their ways to get as many products as they could. When Rey was almost finished she noticed Poe heading her way, and not further away a couple of stormtroopers strolling through the pathway, monitoring the crowd.

Without a second thought, Rey jumped towards Poe and dragged him by the arm with a free hand just around the street corner. Rey's back had hit the clay, orange wall just before Poe fell into her with the impact of his crammed backpack.

„Oof." Poe let out air from his lungs.

„Shh," Rey breathed almost inaudibly, reaching for the side of the hood, she had already put on before, to cover at least a bit of his face. She looked around, feeling Poe's warm breath on the side of her neck until she noticed with the corner of her eye stormtroopers passed them and went into another alley.

When she finally looked back to Poe his gaze was piercing her through and the noises of the street seemed to fade away. Was he angry? Rey couldn't pinpoint the emotion across his facial features.

Then he tore away his body from hers and quickly flicked the orange dust away from her shoulders.

Their way back to the Falcon was silent, but not awkward. When they arrived their campsite Poe went looking for Leia in her tent, while Rey went to check on Rose and Finn.

Finn's sweetheart seemed to be doing better, so after exchanging a few words with the pair Rey headed for the bridge. They were the only people on the ship, so apart from the low humming of engines, it was pretty quiet. Occasionally the Falcon wobbled a bit from the nearby small volcano. It was a risky place to camp, but it gave them better chances to go unnoticed.

That's how Rey found herself facing the train of thoughts she was intensely pushing away in her mind. A mix of flashbacks with blurred faces hit her as she grabbed a toolbox and headed towards the machine room.

Memories felt like a dream now, flying the Falcon with Han, Leia's embrace, Luke's hard lessons… then Snoke torturing her and Kylo Ren talking to her about her parents.

„Ow!" Rey cried out and dropped a wrench. She put her bleeding thumb into her mouth.

Rage rose inside her chest. This couldn't be it, something felt false about what Ben, or rather Kylo Ren, had told her. The memories her mind kept reviving felt foreign as if planted artificially inside her heart.

Who should she believe? Why was her fate put between Skywalker family? What kept her on the light side?

Rey looked around the machine room, her chest feeling heavy. She didn't have the answers to those questions, which replaced the anger in her with helplessness. As much as she fought against it she was sinking in dark thoughts.

Then she reached for one of the panels on the wall to give herself support and suddenly she felt warmth enter her body and a glow under eyelids.

This spot reminded her of someone or rather of feelings between two people. It wasn't her memory and Rey felt as if she intruded an intimate moment when two blurred figures crystallized in the memory. It was Han Solo and General Leia! They were much younger, intense looks on their faces but they were standing in that same exact spot Rey was standing.

Her gaze moved from Leia to Han. Rey felt the tips of her ears burn when she recognized the expression he wore. This was the same one Poe gave her earlier in the city when Rey dragged him so they wouldn't be recognized.

Poe's face appeared in front of her as if it were real. Blood rushed to her head, what was he doing in that memory? Did her mind go crazy?

Rey extended her hand towards this imaginary Poe, fingertips just barely caressing his two-day stubble.

„Rey, are you okay?" Poe called out, making Rey regain consciousness.

Rey backed and breathed in abruptly. Poe was really there and she just touched his face.

„I…" she stuttered and then swallowed while rubbing her small bleeding, „I'm sorry, I had a vision."

He furrowed his eyebrows, his gaze following her hands. „Kylo Ren again?"

„No," Rey breathed out and smiled warmly at his concern.

Poe's tense expression visibly relaxed. His right hand reached his back pocket when he spoke, „I wanted to tell you that Leia agreed we can finally prepare for Yavin IV."

Rey smiled widely, „That's good news! You must be so happy!"

„Yes, uh, I am," he admitted, evidently pondering over something. Next, he took out a small package, wrapped in brown paper and mumbled, „This is for you."

A sensation of genuine bewilderment went through Rey, as she reached for the gift. She unfolded the paper carefully with one hand, and a couple of different types of chocolate fell onto her left palm.

Rey was definitely dumbfounded. „You shouldn't have, it's expensive for sure. We need as much food as we can for all the guys."

Poe's face went fully red. „It's from my personal pay. I remembered you said you wished you could try different sweets, and uh, in my opinion, chocolate is the best and…" he stopped half sentence.

She heard a lot of stories about Poe before at long last Rey met him. Finn described him as confident and brave, BB-8, of course, had only good beeps about his master and the stories she heard on Jakku about fearless and heroic X-wing pilots checked out with him… yet Commander Poe Dameron, standing in front of her, looked embarrassed and awkward.

Poe shook his head and sighed, „You're right, I shouldn't have, now I made you uncomfortable. Once again I did a thing before thinking."

Rey reached for his hand before he could turn around and scat. „Thank You, this is lovely." Carefully she put the paper with chocolates on a shelf nearby but couldn't resist trying it. This was, at last, a small wish come true. „I'm going to save them for worse times, but try one now okay?"

„Of course, as you wish, those are all for you," Poe nodded and smiled when she put one into her mouth.

Sweetness she never felt before filled her mouth. Long ago Rey heard about chocolate and wanted to try it ever since but she never had enough money for simple stuff like bread. Even if she did, nobody was selling such products on Jakku.

Rey grinned just as she felt some soft and sweet fruit pieces in the melting chocolate and felt like hugging Poe when the ship shook from another eruption from the nearby volcano. Without really thinking it through Rey's first instinct was to protect the chocolates.

However, Poe's instinct worked a bit more sensibly, thank the Force. His arm pinned her to the wall, while his other hand went for her head before she hit against a nearby engine.

The tremor was gone as quick as it emerged, but both of them remained close, Rey supporting herself on Poe. The feel of his solid chest under her palms made her heart skip a beat.

Then Finn showed up, shouting, „Rey! Rey, are you okay?"

Before Rey and Poe untangled themselves Finn was already there, concern long gone from his voice, „I see…" he said, apparently quite amused.

„It's not what it looks like," Poe grunted and let go of Rey.

„I sure hope it is," Finn snickered, „otherwise I don't even know what else is happening right now in here. Oh and Rey? You have something on your face," and with that he was gone, cackling on his way back to the small medical bay.

Rey's fingers reached her cheek, looking for any stains. She looked back to Poe, and damn him, he was giving her that intense look again when their eyes met.

„I'm sorry, are you angry with me?" Rey asked quietly, suddenly her cheeks burning like hell.

Poe was truly stupefied. „Why would I be angry with you?"

„I just… I don't know, you looked like it now and earlier at the market," Rey blurted out.

„I'm not angry, I…" he paused mid-sentence when he noticed, at last, a smudge of chocolate in the corner of her mouth.

He must have let go of some thought holding him back when he walked back to Rey and softly grabbed her side while he hovered over her and his lips found the chocolate on her skin.

If Rey had anything to say, she didn't have anymore, words stuck in her throat. She raised her right hand to the back of his neck and followed the instinct by burying tips of her fingers in his black curls, turning her face fully towards Poe.

Rey responded by giving Poe better access and he sighed into her mouth, making her belly do a flip-flop. The caress of his lips got softer and softer before his lips left hers for a moment.

„Strawberry, my favorite," he breathed. Rey noticed happy sparkles dancing around in his eyes when she managed to look at him.

„Mine too," she breathed back as if she ever tasted any other kind.

This time Rey tilted her head and closed the distance between them. She found Poe's lips once more, pressing their noses together.

She put her left hand back on his chest again, feeling the muscle underneath the thin, cotton material. He felt, so real underneath her. When she pressed harder against him, he drew her closer, squeezing her sides. Letting her know he was there and he wasn't planning on going anywhere.

Time stopped, force froze, her mess of thoughts didn't matter as long as he was holding her… and beeping?

Beep, beep! sounds came from the hallway.

Reluctantly Rey pulled away from the handsome pilot and looked over his shoulder to find a stressed droid.

I've been looking everywhere for my master-friend! General-friend is heading for the starship! She wants to talk to master-friend!

Poe replied, his panting only audible for Rey. „Thanks, buddy. I'll be over there in a second, okay?"

He squeezed her side again and smiled widely at her. „Can we talk afterwards?"

Rey nodded and smiled back, while she watched him run to the General.

Turned out Leia was strongly determined to leave for Yavin which meant as soon as possible, so everybody had to pack right away. The evacuation was the most important, so Rey hasn't had a chance to talk to Poe, but it could wait.

She finally understood his expression and Rey couldn't help but laugh whenever he made it, catching her stare across the main hold. There was at least one clear thing in her life.

When Leia entered the starship Rey could swear she smiled when she walked by the machine room.


End file.
